Mayor of London Sadiq Khan​ grew angry and lost his temper during Thursday’s session of Mayor’s Question Time at the London Assembly. One by one, Assembly Members David Kurten of UKIP, Andrew Dismore of Labour, and Andrew Boff of the Conservatives asked the Mayor whether he would join calls for the Home Secretary to proscribe the whole of Hizballah under the Terrorism Act 2000. Hizballah seeks the annihilation of all Jews worldwide and has committed acts of terror from Bangkok to Buenos Aires to Burgas, yet hundreds of its supporters were permitted to march through central London last Sunday for the annual “Al Quds Day” pro-Hizballah show of force.

Whilst the British government has proscribed the “military wing” of Hizballah under the Terrorism Act 2000, the “political wing” is not proscribed, something that even Hizballah finds ridiculous. In October 2012, Hizballah Deputy Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, said: “We don’t have a military wing and a political one; we don’t have Hizballah on one hand and the resistance party on the other…Every element of Hizballah, from commanders to members as well as our various capabilities, are in the service of the resistance, and we have nothing but the resistance as a priority.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has long led calls for Hizballah to be proscribed in its entirety by the Home Secretary, and our lawyers are reviewing evidence from last week’s march.

The Mayor however refused to be pressed on whether he would back such calls with his own letter to the Home Secretary, repeatedly insisting that he needed to see more evidence, and even that the best thing for him to do would be to obtain more funding for the Metropolitan Police Service, despite the police refusing to take any action until the whole of Hizballah is proscribed.

When Assembly Member Andrew Boff demanded clarity on whether the Mayor will write to the Home Secretary, the Mayor lost his temper, refusing to confirm what he would do and instead resorting to astonishing playground taunts.

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Campaign Against Antisemitism is a volunteer-led charity dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law. Everything that we do is done by people who volunteer their time, using donations contributed by members of the public. Join the fight against antisemitism by subscribing to our updates, volunteering, or donating.